Telling the good story

The expectations are high among the entrepreneurs participating in the first Danish Lifestyle Entrepreneurs' Press Day in Copenhagen today.

A lot of energy is spent in product design and -development. But between design and sales hides one of the most difficult tasks: storytelling...

Seven new brands are getting ready to present their collections to the world of fashion and accessories.

From shoes to sport clothing, from jewellery to bags and watches: the big press room is filled with expertise and passion. Nanotechnology, porcelain, gold, silk, leather.. But a perfect product is not enough and a compelling story does not help if it is not told. 

Many entrepreneurs start with a passion for the product and the search for perfection in design and product quality rarely stops when the products are on the shelves. The focus shifts then quickly to sales. Rightfully. No cash flow - no future. However, many wonderful products are being designed and produced but few of them find their place in the hands of the final consumer. What happens?

There are many obstacles on the way between the designer and our closet. One of them is the difficulty of telling the story. First of all, recognizing it. Many entrepreneurs get lost in the details and lose the perspective on the novelty they are bringing to the world. Others simply don't have the competence or the energy needed to tell their story to the world. Getting a message across the crowded landscape of the fashion system is not easy nor cheap. Communication research tell us that a message - though compelling - needs to be repeated many times before succeeding in reaching the audience.

Many institutions help entrepreneurs getting started. Some even help developing strategies and support growth through internationalization. Rarely the focus is on how to secure that the story is told to the right media in the right format and at the right time.

Venturelli Consulting is supporting lifestyle entrepreneurs in their first attempts to tell their stories to the press. It is not "just" another press-day: it's a learning process. What material should be ready, what is the timing of the different types of publications, what do the journalists need. This is one the most important and often overseen phases of the business process around the establishment and growth of a brand and it requires quite a long preparation and knowledge, as underlined by Stine Holte Jensen in Fashion Forum.

Today is the culmination of a two-months long preparation. We wish all the seven entrepreneurs good luck with the day and with their wonderful collections. We hope that they will take the learning with them to make their storytelling sharper and ready to conquer the world of fashion and lifestyle!

Are you a lifestyle entrepreneur? How did you learn telling your story? Any good advice to other entrepreneurs? We look forward to reading your comments.